


Gifts

by cathalin



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Christmas, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-15
Updated: 2008-12-15
Packaged: 2017-10-20 22:48:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathalin/pseuds/cathalin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some gifts aren't about <i>things</i>.  (Alternate summary: John and Rodney do Gifts of the Magi, dork style)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gifts

"It's mine. I found it. You can't have it." Rodney clutched the glowing alien orb to his chest.

"Bullshit," John said. "It's so mine. If I hadn't convinced the Chieftain, we never would have gotten it at all."

"In a world where 'convinced' means 'flirted outrageously,'" Rodney huffed.

"Oh, for god's sake. You were the one who was flirting with him." John's voice went up a register into a falsetto. "'Oh, brave Chieftan, let me bat my eyelashes at you and see whether you'll give me your glowing globe."

"If you think that was flirting, then your definition of--"

"Perhaps we should let Dr. Zelenka examine it." Teyla crossed her arms meaningfully. "As standard procedure requires."

Rodney looked sideways at John, and then sighed. "Fine. Fine! I don't care any more."

"Me neither," John said, not bothering to remove the sulk from his tone.

Teyla stared hard at Rodney.

"Oh, fine. Here!" He thrust the orb into her hands and stomped off.

John looked hopefully at Teyla and she just shook her head. "I am taking it to Dr. Zelenka." She had the look she got sometimes when she announced she'd be teaching John a new skill with bantos sticks.

John held up his hands in surrender. "Alright! Take it to Zelenka."

Teyla did.

~ ~ ~

"So, what? I'm not allowed to come to my own lab at night?"

 

"Not if it's to plunder alien artifacts!"

Rodney raised an eyebrow at John. "And I suppose you're here at two in the morning to run experiments?"

"Well, I, uh." John stared at his boots.

"That's what I thought!" Rodney crowed triumphantly. "So just run along now, Colonel, and let the scientists handle this."

"I'll be happy to do that," John said. "When you show me what you have hidden behind your back."

"Oh, for--Fine. Yes, I have it. Is that a crime? I'm the head scientist of this expedition, and--"

John advanced on Rodney with as much menace as he could muster at this hour of the night. Rodney rolled his eyes and brought the orb out from behind his back. "Alright, alright, alright. I'll put it back."

John waited, arching his eyebrow at Rodney.

"Yes, yes, okay. Putting it back now."

They left the lab together and walked through Atlantis's deserted corridors. When they got to Rodney's quarters, John cleared his throat, then looked at Rodney.

Rodney sighed. "Okay. I suppose I can help you out. You'll never get back to sleep otherwise." He opened the door and motioned John inside, then grabbed John's shirt and pulled him over to stand next to the bed. "I always have to do everything," Rodney grumbled, sitting down and unfastening John's pants before John could move. "Mmmm," he said a few minutes later around John's cock, expertly stroking behind John's balls.

"God. Oh god," John gasped, coming hard into Rodney's mouth, then collapsing onto his knees on the floor and fumbling at Rodney's zipper.

"Oh, please, as if you're going to manage that when you're all blissed out, oh my God!" Rodney moaned as John went down on his cock, taking it all. Rodney's hands clasped John's head, first lightly, then harder. John groaned appreciatively around Rodney's cock and Rodney cursed and came hard, almost doubling over himself, thrusting frantically into John's willing mouth.

"Well, get up here," Rodney said a few minutes later, sounding a little breathless. "Don't do any more damage to your knees. I'd like you to keep being able to do that."

"Me too," John slurred, relaxed and kind of limp.

"You're so hopeless after blow jobs." Rodney hauled John up next to him on the bed.

"Sorry," John murmured to Rodney's shoulder.

"Yes. Well. I can see there's no way you're making it to your room tonight," Rodney said to John's ear. "I suppose you'd better stay."

"Kind of tired, gotta admit, but I really should be getting ba--" John put his elbows under him and started to sit up.

"Stay," Rodney grumped, pushing John back down and shoving at clothes until they were both stripped, then pulling the blankets snugly around them both. "You'll sprain something valuable if you try to go now."

"Hrmph," John said, scooting back slightly towards Rodney's warmth. "Probably right."

~ ~ ~

"Alright, that is _it_ ," Woolsey said. "In my office. Now."

John followed Rodney into Woolsey's office. They both looked at the floor.

"I cannot believe we are having this conversation," Woolsey said. "I am seriously considering asking Dr. Keller to check you both for evidence of alien influence, and I will do exactly that if I don't get answers I'm satisfied with. So, gentlemen, is there some other explanation for the highest ranking leaders in this city having what I can only describe as a slap fight in the cafeteria?"

John snuck a look at Rodney. He was fiddling with his jacket's cuff. Neither of them said anything.

"And if there is an explanation, does it cover how you managed to break this artifact?" Woolsey motioned to the egg-shaped orb on his desk, now in pieces. When neither of them responded, Woolsey arched an eyebrow. "If I may borrow an expression from the Colonel, what the hell?"

There was silence.

Woolsley tapped his foot. "I'm prepared to wait all day."

"Fine!" Rodney exploded. "I just. I wanted the orb for a reason. Something...personal."

John looked up. "Me, too."

Woolsey sighed. "What do you mean, _personal_? As far as we know, it's just a low power energy source that causes objects to levitate for a few minutes. Or, it was, before it was broken. By you. What possible use could you have had for it?" He glared at both of them.

"I..." Rodney coughed into his hand and looked at the wall.

"It was for a gift," John blurted. He could feel his cheeks heat.

Rodney's head whipped around and he stared at John. "That's what _I_ wanted it for!"

John narrowed his eyes at Rodney. "You did? For who?"

"Whom," Rodney said. "For _whom_?"

John narrowed his eyes more. "Yeah. Exactly. Who?"

Rodney rolled his eyes. "We are _not_ doing 'Who's on first' right now."

John crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Rodney. Rodney crossed his arms over his chest and glared at John.

 

"Gentlemen," Woolsey sighed. "I will admit that the holiday season can make _anyone_ act in ways that are...a little unusual. But whatever this was about, I need your assurances that this type of behavior will not recur."

"Of course not," John said quietly, looking at the floor again.

"Right," Rodney said. "I have better things to do anyway."

"Me, too," John said.

"Alright gentlemen, then we'll consider this incident closed. Though," Woolsey said, giving each of them a long look, "perhaps it would behoove you to speak with the person for whom this was meant to be a gift, since it is no longer available. I am going to leave you in here for a few minutes alone to consider what your next actions should be."

Woolsey left, the door closing quietly behind him.

John scuffed his feet and looked at the wall. Rodney fiddled with some knick-knacks on Woolsey's desk.

"The thing is--"

"What I was--"

They both laughed uncomfortably. They looked at each other. Rodney rolled his eyes. John smirked. They looked away, then looked back.

"So, I had this idea for something to make with it," Rodney finally said, mouth an unhappy line.

John forced himself to look at Rodney. He bit his lip, then said, "Me, too. I thought I could use it to make a really cool--"

"A remote control hovercar--" Rodney said.

"For you," John whispered.

"Me, too," Rodney said softly. "Oh."

"Yeah, oh," John said, giving Rodney a weak smile. "It's just. I wanted to get you something, and you're kind of the scientist with everything, so..."

"And I wanted to get you something -- oh my god I can't believe I'm going to use this word -- special." Rodney looked momentarily horrified. He took a couple of steps towards John, though.

"I won't tell anyone." John closed the remaining distance between them. "I looked around on all the worlds we've been on recently, but there was nothing right. I don't have anything to give you." He held out his hands and turned them palms up: empty.

"Me, neither." Rodney looked at John's still-outstretched hands for a moment. "Or maybe," he looked up at John through his eyelashes, "Maybe you already did give me something." Rodney bit his lip and laid his hands in John's, then looked at him again, a soft, tentative expression on his face.

They didn't talk about stuff like this; they just _were_. John's throat felt tight. Rodney's hands were familiar: calloused, strong, warm. John swallowed and closed his fingers around Rodney's. "Yeah," John said, voice a little raspy. "You, too."

"I don't--I haven't, well. I've never wanted to design someone a craft made with an alien hover orb before." Rodney looked a little flushed, like he might bolt at any second.

John tightened his fingers around Rodney's and pulled him even closer. "I've never fought for something I wanted to give someone as a gift before." John could feel his heart hammering really fast.

Rodney tipped his chin up, took a breath. "Look, it's Christmas Eve. I don't--Well, obviously it means nothing to me as a religious holiday, but... Could you maybe...stay over? Without, well, either one of us coming up with an excuse?"

John had to just breathe for a few seconds. He swallowed, mouth a little dry, then nodded. "I could even drool on your pillow if you want."

"We're sort of pathetic," Rodney said.

John leaned his forehead against Rodney's in the Athosian gesture. "It's a gift."

 

~The End~


End file.
